Grading all 12 trades the Mariners and Jerry Dipoto made during the 2023-24 offseason

9. 1/29/2024 - Mariners send RHP Anthony DeSclafani, OF Gabriel Gonzalez, RHP Darren Bowen, RHP Justin Topa and cash considerations to the Minnesota Twins for INF Jorge Polanco

On the surface, I absolutely love this trade. Polanco is a switch-hitting problem at the plate. He gives the Mariners something they have not had since peak Robinson Cano: power from the second base position! He has hit a combined 63 home runs over the past 3 seasons, but it is not just home runs he provides. He has a .796 OPS (3rd best on the 2023 Mariners) and a 120 OPS+ (3rd ranked on the 2023 Mariners) over the past 3 seasons.

He has spent a lot of time on the Injured list over the last 2 seasons, as he only played in 80 games in 2023. He still had 2.0 bWAR in just 80 games. I know it is a lazy way of thinking, but if you double his numbers from 2023 to show a complete season, 4 bWAR from your second baseman is an extreme luxury. He is a serviceable defensive second baseman, but he will not win any gold gloves there.

The Mariners did have to give up a top-100 prospect to get this deal done. Gabby Gonzalez has been shooting up prospect rankings, and deservedly so. He currently ranks at #79 in MLB Pipelines top 100 prospects. He is still a few years away from making it to The Show, but he is an exciting player that I am sure we will miss.

I give this trade a solid A. The front office had to work extremely hard to get this team better on less money, and I think they accomplished that with this trade. Polanco could be here through the 2025 season, should the Mariners exercise his club option after 2024. That is well worth the price paid to get his services.